Collins English-English Dictionary

plate [pleɪt]

1. 1. n plateful the contents of a plate or the amount a plate will hold

2. 2. n a shallow usually circular dish made of porcelain, earthenware, glass, etc, on which food is served or from which food is eaten

3. 3. n (as modifier)

   a plate rack

4. 4. n [Austral and NZ] a plate of cakes, sandwiches, etc, brought by a guest to a party

   everyone was asked to bring a plate

5. 5. n an entire course of a meal

   a cold plate

6. 6. n any shallow or flat receptacle, esp for receiving a collection in church

7. 7. n flat metal of uniform thickness obtained by rolling, usually having a thickness greater than about three millimetres

8. 8. n a thin coating of metal usually on another metal, as produced by electrodeposition, chemical action, etc

9. 9. n metal or metalware that has been coated in this way, esp with gold or silver

   Sheffield plate

10. 10. n dishes, cutlery, etc, made of gold or silver

11. 11. n a sheet of metal, plastic, rubber, etc, having a printing surface produced by a process such as stereotyping, moulding, or photographic deposition

12. 12. n a print taken from such a sheet or from a woodcut, esp when appearing in a book

13. 13. n a thin flat sheet of a substance, such as metal or glass

14. 14. n armour made of overlapping or articulated pieces of thin metal

15. 15. n [photog] a sheet of glass, or sometimes metal, coated with photographic emulsion on which an image can be formed by exposure to light

16. 16. n (as modifier)

    a plate camera

17. 17. n an orthodontic device, esp one used for straightening children's teeth

18. 18. n an informal word for denture

19. 19. n [anatomy] any flat platelike structure or part

20. 20. n a cup or trophy awarded to the winner of a sporting contest, esp a horse race

21. 21. n a race or contest for such a prize

22. 22. n any of the rigid layers of the earth's lithosphere of which there are believed to be at least 15 - See also plate tectonics

23. 23. n [electronics] [chiefly US] the anode in an electronic valve

24. 24. n an electrode in an accumulator or capacitor

25. 25. n a horizontal timber joist that supports rafters or studs

26. 26. n a light horseshoe for flat racing

27. 27. n [RC Church] Communion plate a flat plate held under the chin of a communicant in order to catch any fragments of the consecrated Host

28. 28. n a thin cut of beef from the brisket

29. 29. n See plate rail

30. 30. n [archaic] a coin, esp one made of silver

31. 31. vt. [tr] to coat (a surface, usually metal) with a thin layer of other metal by electrolysis, chemical reaction, etc

32. 32. vt. to cover with metal plates, as for protection

33. 33. vt. [printing] to make a stereotype or electrotype from (type or another plate)

34. 34. vt. to form (metal) into plate, esp by rolling

35. 35. vt. to give a glossy finish to (paper) by calendering

36. 36. vt. to grow (microorganisms) in a culture medium

37. 37. vt. See also plate up

38. 38. vt. [Etymology] C13: from Old French: thin metal sheet, something flat, from Vulgar Latin plattus (unattested); related to Greek platus flat